WOLF SIGHTINGS - The Nature and Forest Agency has confirmed the presence of a wolf in the eastern region of the country. Over the past fortnight, the agency has received two distinct reports, with photographs and a video documenting the wolf’s presence in both Echternach and Beaufort. It is not clear if the wolf sighted in both locations is the same animal, but it is the fourth time this year that a wolf has been verified within Luxembourg’s borders.
ELECTION CANDIDATES - With the elections drawing near, a total of 649 candidates have registered across a range of twelve lists. The lists have been submitted, and the electoral contest can officially kick off in the coming days. The three youngest candidates are all aged 18: Lucy Agostini, representing the Pirate Party in the centre, Pierre Turquin from the Left Party (déi Lénk), running in the centre, and Komal Morandini of FOKUS, running in the east of the country. Conversely, Venanzo Bartocci, aged 84, stands as the oldest candidate and is running for the Luxembourg Communist Party (KPL) in the central region. Gender distribution among candidates presents a notable divide, with 57% being male and 43% female.
SCHUEBERFOUER BEGINS - The Schueberfouer starts today. The official opening of the fair starts at 5 o’clock this afternoon with the Hämmelsmarsch or mutton march. Musicians, accompanied by shepherds and several ribbon wearing sheep will take part in the opening ceremony. The fair lasts around 20 days and is expected to attract up to two million visitors. Safety remains a priority this year.
TUNNEL CLOSURES - Motorists using tunnels for their daily commutes should brace for disruptions in the weeks ahead. Ongoing camera replacement work within the Gousselerbierg tunnel has necessitated bidirectional traffic routing through a single tunnel until the 18 September as well as nighttime closure from 24 October to 26 for cleaning activities. In addition, various tunnels across the country are slated for maintenance and cleaning operations from the 28 August. Among the affected tunnels are the Grouft, Markusberg, Cents and Serra tunnels, among others.
GREECE FIRES - 18 people believed to have been migrants, have been killed in a wildfire in northeastern Greece. The boys were found near a shack, north of Alexandroupolis on a route to enter Greece from Turkey. Firefighters have been battling blazes across Greece as well as in Albania, Italy, Portugal and on Tenerife in the Canary islands.
CABLE CAR RESCUE - There’s relief across Pakistan after all 8 people were rescued from a cable car, in which they had been trapped since early Tuesday morning. Most of them were schoolchildren and the nation had been transfixed by the effort to save all of them from the broken car, that was dangling hundreds of meters above a ravine.
MOSCOW DRONE ATTACK - Russian air defences have shot down three Ukrainian drones in Moscow and its region, targeted in a sixth consecutive day of attacks. This latest attack came hours after three people were killed and two others injured in Russian shelling of two villages near Lyman in eastern Ukraine, according to the head of the local military administration.
TRUMP ARRAIGNMENT - Most of the candidates preparing for the Republican nomination are appearing in the first televised debate later today. The favourite for the nomination, Donald Trump won’t be taking part. He is instead doing an interview that will be broadcast on Elon Musk’s X social media site, before heading to Georgia where he will be handing himself in to authorities to face charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 election result in that state. The judge has ruled that cameras will be allowed in the courtroom, marking the first time that one of Trump’s criminal proceedings will be televised.
TIMMERMANS RESIGNS - The Dutch politician and diplomat Frans Timmermans has resigned as vice-president of the European Commission in a bid to become the next prime minister of the Netherlands. The former European climate commissioner will lead a new left-wing alliance, made up of the Dutch Labour party and the GreenLeft party in elections this November.
Sports
ATHLETICS - Three of the sport’s greats gained more gold for their collections on day four of the World Athletics Championships in Budapest. Kenya’s Faith Kipyegon has made history as the first woman to win three world titles after winning gold in the 1500m. Italy’s Olympic champion Gianmarco Tamberi captured the world high jump title with 2.36 meters. And Morocco’s Olmypic champion Soufiane El Bakkali in the 3000m steeplechase crossed the line in 8min 03.53sec.
RUGBY - England captain Owen Farrell will miss the first two games of the World Cup after World Rugby won their appeal against the controversial decision to overturn his red card. Farrell will be suspended for the Pool D matches against Argentina and Japan, with this month’s warm-up games against Ireland and Fiji also included in the four-match ban.
GOLF - PGA Tour chief executive Jay Monahan said he is confident of meeting a December 31 deadline to hammer out details of the tour’s merger with Saudi-backed LIV Golf. Speaking ahead of this week’s Tour Championship playoff finale in Atlanta, Monahan said he expected a deal for the new circuit to be in place by January 1.
Weather
Don’t be put off by the misty morning - the skies will soon clear up, leaving space for the sunshine to break through. Another hot day lies in store as this week’s summer temperatures linger, with sunshine and intermittent clouds expected all day long. Meteolux has issued a yellow temperature alert for the southern half of the country. The mercury will then drop significantly in the coming days. The morning’s temperatures start off at 15-17°C, rising to around 29-31ºC in the afternoon.
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